Lower Nob Hill in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Isadora Duncan

1878 – 1927

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, February 10, 2014

1. Isadora Duncan Marker

Inscription. Daughter of California Pioneers
America’s Genius of Dance
was born on this site.
She created a new art form, liberating the dance as an expression of life. She believed and taught that “no education is complete without the dance” since “movements are as eloquent as words.” “The dance of the future... shall dance the freedom of women... the highest intelligence in the freest (sic) body”... ”The dance will not belong to a nation but to all humanity.”

Erected 1973.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music.

Location. 37° 47.234′ N, 122° 24.7′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Lower Nob Hill. Marker is on Taylor Street near Derby Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 515 Taylor Street, San Francisco CA 94133, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Hotel Winton (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Native Sons Building (about 500 feet away); Metropolitan Club (about 700 feet away); Marines Memorial Club (about 700 feet away); Unsung Heros

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

(approx. 0.2 miles away); History of Union Square (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sears Fine Food (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dancing, Roller Skating & Bowling (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.

Also see . . .
1. Isadora Duncan (1877-1927). Angela Isadora Duncan was born in 1877 in San Francisco, California. As a child she studied ballet, Delsarte technique and burlesque forms like skirt dancing. She began her professional career in Chicago in 1896, where she met the theatrical producer Augustin Daly. Soon after, Duncan joined his his touring company, appearing in roles ranging from one of the fairies in a "Mid-summer Night's Dream" to one of the quartet girls in "The Giesha." (Submitted on February 22, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

2. Dancer Isadora Duncan is killed in car accident - This Day in History. On September 14, 1927, dancer Isadora Duncan is strangled in Nice, France, when the enormous silk scarf she is wearing gets tangled in the rear hubcaps of her open car... Duncan lived a self-consciously bohemian, eccentric life offstage as well: She was a feminist and a
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, February 10, 2014

2. Isadora Duncan Marker
Darwinist, an advocate of free love and a Communist. (For this, her American citizenship was revoked in the early 1920s.) (Submitted on February 22, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, November 18, 2015

3. Isadora Duncan Marker

To the right of the door of the Geary Taylor Apartments at 501 Taylor Street.

Isadora Duncan image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer

4. Isadora Duncan

501 Taylor Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, November 18, 2015

5. 501 Taylor Street

This six story 1919 building designed by Joseph Cahen has been the Rosenberg Apartments in 1923, the Lady Shirley Apartments in 1924, and the Geary Taylor Hotel Apartments since 1982.

Geary and Taylor image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Allen C. Browne, November 18, 2015

6. Geary and Taylor

Isadora Duncan was born in her father's house here on the corner of Geary and Taylor streets, where Walgreen's is today. Her father was George Duncan, — “a suave and cultured gentleman who was a cashier of the Bank of California and whose fortune crashed with William Ralston's. He was known as a connoisseur of the arts, and was often asked to select paintings and marbles for the palaces of his friends who knew little about them. His own home at Geary and Taylor Streets held many treasures.” — Samuel Dickson. In 1889 the Duncan home broke up in scandal and divorce and Mrs. Duncan and her children moved to Oakland.

Isadora Duncan #29 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Wikipedia

7. Isadora Duncan #29

Isadora Duncan #29 by Abraham Walkowitz c. 1915

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 22, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 892 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on March 17, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 22, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 3. submitted on November 21, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 4. submitted on February 22, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 5, 6, 7. submitted on November 21, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.